Ghana’s apex court, the Supreme Court, has declared as unconstitutional, the directive by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in 2020, for the former Auditor-General, Daniel Yao Demelevo, to proceed on forced leave.
As can be recalled, the president, in a letter dated June 29, 2020, and signed by the Director of Communications at the Presidency, Eugene Arhin, the former A-G was directed to take his accumulated leave.
The statement added that “The president’s decision to direct Mr Domelevo to take his accumulated leave is based on sections 20(1) and 31 of the Labour Act, 2003 (Act 651), which apply to all workers, including public office holders such as the Auditor-General.”
But after hearing a case brought before it by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) and eight other Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) who described the move as an affront to the independence of the office, the Supreme Court has ruled that the move was unconstitutional.
According to a report by citinewsroom.com, the decision by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to Daniel Yao Domelevo in 2020 to take his 169 working days of accumulated leave was null and void.
It will also be recalled that after the president’s directive, which courted a lot of public uproar and disaffection, there were several unattended appeals from the CSOs to the president.
The groups then decided to seek interpretation from the Supreme Court.
Source: ghanaweb.com
